~ 50 kiloters Northwest from Borodin ~
June 21
8:01 AM
Sarah, Aiden, and Hong went to the cafeteria for breakfast.
The cafeteria is massive and there were several hundreds of people present.
"Doesn't this remind you of our days at the school?", Sarah almost sang as she leaned on Aiden while they waited in line to get their food.
Aiden smiled as mories from the Tesla University ca to his mind. "The first ti I joined you at the table, I was in such a rush that I grabbed a random tray. I rember that mac and cheese was horrible, but I swallowed it so that you don't figure out how desperate I was to get close to you."
Sarah smiled goofily. "If you knew how fast my heart was beating, you would be more confident."
"It took a long ti to confirm that you are interested in ."
Sarah giggled. "I will take that as a complint for my acting skills."
They got their food and found a table. Two bites into their breakfast, a big shadow descended above them.
Aiden recognized the man as one from Iskra's team. He is the mountain-man who participated in the first round and he swatted his opponents out of the ring, like they are rags.
"Can I help you?", Aiden asked without getting up.
The man frowned. "I don't like you."
Aiden blinked and his relaxed expression didn't reflect his urge to puml that man into nothing. Aiden told himself to stay cool because fighting here will get him disqualified.
"That is direct. Well, luckily, you don't need to be next to people you don't like. Your team is over there."
The man didn't turn in the direction Aiden pointed. He was irritated that Aiden is so easygoing. "How about I shut your smart mouth with my fist?"
Sarah put her hand over Aiden's, indicating to him that she will take over.
"Why are you here, asking for a fight? You know that if you fight here, both of you will be eliminated from the competition. Did Iskra tell you to co? I see that she has a few more fighters handy, so losing you does not an much. Are you the weakest in your team or the least useful one, and that is why she is willing to sacrifice you?"
The man frowned and Sarah smiled smugly.
"I thought so. Instead of asking for trouble with outsiders, you should first deal with problems in your own house. Are you going to be loyal to Iskra when she is treating you as a pawn? Are others in your team more valuable than you are? Think about it and if you want a leader who will appreciate you, co and join Natalia's camp. On the other side, if you still want a fight, I will be more than happy to give you company."
Aiden's expression shifted. "No, love. I told you that you will not fight."
Sarah gave him her best puppy-eyed look. "But if you fight, you will be disqualified. I am not a competitor, so they can't kick out. In the worst case, the big guy will hit a few tis and I will end up with a few bruises that will heal in a few days but he will be out of the competition so you will not be at risk of fighting him in a match. He has big muscles and looks scary and I don't want him to ruin your handso face. I heal quickly, so it won't matter…"
Aiden shook his head vigorously. "That idea gets a big 'no' from . You will not fight. And you agreed to it…"
The man didn't stick around to listen bickering between Sarah and Aiden. He turned and went back to his table.
Aiden saw that the man left, and he exhaled in relief.
"You were only joking, to get him to back off. Right?" Aiden wanted confirmation.
Sarah smiled mysteriously. "You will never know…"
Hong pinched the roof of his nose. With Sarah and Aiden, he will age rapidly until this mission is over.
After breakfast, they confird that Aiden is participating in the seventh fight in ring two.
They also saw that there are nearly 200 fighters listed.
"That is more than predicted…", Sarah mumbled. "If only three out of ten went to the next round, is it possible that there were more than 600 fighters yesterday?"
"No.", Hong responded. "They made it clear that if soone showed good skills, they would let him pass despite being eliminated. It happens that sotis two strong fighters et in the initial rounds and the organizers don't want to lose either of them. And also, I'm confident that there is a number of people who went straight to the second round."
Sarah didn't approve of this. "If they are so valuable to be granted entry without qualifying, why they didn't get a spot in the finals right away? Or maybe they could get their positions without fighting at all…"
Aiden looked at Sarah dotingly. She always gets excited when she sees injustice. And people using connections to climb up instead of using their skills in a competition of skills, is not right.
The fights in the second round were one-on-one, with a referee in the ring. There are six fighting rings so six matches were held at the sa ti. Weapons were not allowed, and the fight goes on until soone is out of the ring or he can't continue fighting.
"This round will take most of the day…" Aiden calculated that each ring will have 16 to 17 fights. Considering that every fight will last five to ten minutes on average, and with breaks in-between, while fighters change and the floor is cleaned… at best, by end of the day they will cut the number of participants in half. Which is still a lot.
They found seats close to ring number two, where Aiden will be fighting, and observed big screens that showed the fights.
"I like the organization…", Sarah mused. "We should do sothing like this at ho…"
"Unless you plan to adopt more kids, it will not be necessary.", Aiden spoke only for Sarah to hear.
"Why?"
"Our kids are growing up. They will focus on other things. Jobs, families…", Aiden stopped talking when he saw that Sarah's mood dropped. He knows that she is great at accepting new things, but she is unable to let go. No matter what it is. "I'm sure that they will not go far away. And we are starting our own family, so we will be busy as well…"
Sarah had an unreadable expression. She was not sure how she feels about all that. Part of her was happy to know that her kids are self-sufficient, ready to step into the world and chase their dreams… and another part wanted them all to stay close and that nothing changes. She wondered if all parents feel like that as their kids grow up. She was never good at goodbyes.
Sarah leaned on Aiden and inhaled a shaky breath. "Promise that you will not leave ."
Aiden hugged her and spoke into her temple. "I promise. I will never leave you. We are stuck together. Forever."
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